Adjustable feed mechanism for an autographic register



j l- .ri f6. Z j IH f1 M 5x April 28, v1959y C. J. VOGEL ADJUSTABLE FEED MECHANISM FOR AN AUTOGRAPI-IC REGISTER Filed Oct. 15. 1956 April 28, 1959 c. J. voc-:EL ADJUSTABLE FEED MECHANISM FOR AN AUTOGRAPHIC REGISTER Filed oct. 15, 195e 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 April 2s, 1959l C. J. VOGEL ADJUSTABLE FEED MECHANISM EoR AN Au'roGRAPHIc REGISTER Filed Oct. 15. 1956 l s sheets-sheet s United States Patent O ADJUSTABLE FEED MECHANISM FOR AN AUTOGRAPHIC REGISTER 'Charles J. Vogel, Dearborn, Mich., assignor to Uarco Incorporated, a corporation of Illinois Application October 15, 1956, Serial No. 615,906

3 Claims. (Cl. 282-15) This invention relates to an autographic register and more particularly to an adjustable feed mechanism for such a register.

In business transactions, it is sometimes necessary to vary the number of superposed stationary strips used in an autographic register. For proper feeding of the superposed strips, it may be necessary to vary or adjust the gripping pressures between the friction feed rolls. The present invention facilitates this adjustment so that a single autographic register can readily be made to accommodate a widely varying number of superposed stationery and carbon strips.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved feed mechanism for an autographic register.

Another object is to provide a mechanism whereby the gripping pressures between a pair of friction feed rolls can be quickly and easily adjusted.

A further object is to provide an autographic register having a feed mechanism adapted to accommodate varying numbers of superposed stationery and carbon strips.

Still another object is to provide an autographic register having a lid which floatingly mounts one of a cooperating pair of friction feed rolls and which is adjustable so as to vary the gripping pressure between the pair of feed rolls.

Another object is to provide a unique, adjustable mounting bracket for the lid of an autographic register.

The invention is illustrated in a preferred embodiment in the accompanying drawings in which,

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary top plan view of an autographic register with certain portions broken away to more clearly disclose the structure;

Fig. 2, a sectional view taken as indicated on line 2--2 of Fig. l, with a portion of theregister lid and the feed rolls shown in dotted outline;

Fig. 3, a sectional view taken as indicated on line 3--3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4, a fragmentary sectional view taken as indicated on line 4--4 of Fig. l with certain portions broken away for clarity of illustration;

Fig. 5, a sectional view taken as indicated on line 5-5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6, a sectional View taken as illustrated on line 6-6 of Fig. 4; and

Fig. 7, a sectional view taken as indicated on line 7--7 of Fig. 4.

In the embodiment illustrated, a register housing, generally designated 10, is provided having a pair of upstanding side walls 11 which combine with a rear end wall (not shown) to form a rear storage compartment in theI register for a quantity of superposed stationery and carbon strips, generally designated 12. As in the conventional autographie register, the strips 12 are intermittently advanced forwardly over a platen 13 by a pair of cooperating friction feed rolls 14 and 15 each time the register is operated. An original stationery form length and several carbon copies aregenerally torn off for proper distribution after each operation, while a car- 2,884,263 Patented Apr. 28, 195,9

ice

bon record form length is directed downwardly into a front storage compartment 16, shown in Fig. 2, which is enclosed by a closure member 17 swingably connected to the housing 10 by the hinge member 18.

The drive means for the feed rolls 14 and 15 is of a conventional type, and may include a hand crank 20 secured to an end of a drive shaft 21 which mounts the feed roll 14 and is journaled in the housing 10. Thel drive shaft 21 is preferably operably connected to an idler shaft 22 mounting the friction roll 15 by a pair of spur gears 23 and 24 on the shafts 21 and 22 respectively.

The idler shaft 22 is preferably oatingly journaled so as to normally yieldingly urge the feed roll 15 into frictional gripping engagement with the feed roll 14. As herein best shown in Fig. 4, the idler shaft 22 is journaled in a cover member 25 for a register lid 26 which is hingedly secured by journals 27 to an adjustable mounting member, generally designated 28, on the side walls 11 of the housing 10 to permit swinging movement between an open position (Fig. 2) and a closed position covering the rear storage compartment of the register. The lid 26 is provided with a slotted portion 30 beneath the cover member 25 through which the feed roll 15 extends into operative engagement with the feed roll 14, the feed roll 14 extending through an opening 29 in the platen 13.

The cover member 25 is preferably formed from a cast metal and is secured to the lid 26 by a number of machine screws 31. The cover member 25 may be generally hollow in its interior, as shown in Figs. 4 through 7, and it is preferably formed with a number of downwardly extending bearing portions 32 spaced laterally of the register to accommodate the idler shaft 22 of the friction feed roll 15. Since each of the bearing portions 32 are generally similar in construction, a description of one will be sufficient.

Each bearing portion 32 is provided with a pair of downwardly extending elements 33 which define an openended slot 34 of a size to accommodate a portion of the idler shaft 22. The slots 34 are arranged in lateral alignment to receive the idler shaft 22, and each of the downwardly Iextending elements 33 in a bearing portion 32 are spaced to limit side-Wise movement in the idler shaft 22, as shown in Fig. 7. The slots 34 extend upwardly in the bearing portions 32 a suicient distance to permit slight upward movement of the idler shaft 22 between the elements 33.

Each of the bearing portions 32 is preferably countersunk to provide a well 35 of a size to receive a coiled compression spring 36. The inner faces of each pair of downwardly extending elements 33 which form the slots 34 are cut away to generally conform to the contiguration of each well 35 so as to readily accommodate a follower member 37. Each follower member 37 cooperates with its respective compression spring 36 and bears downwardly upon a portion of the idler shaft 22 in order to yieldingly urge the feed roll 15 into frictional gripping engagement with the feed roll 14.

In the present invention, the fricticnal gripping pressures between the feed rolls 14 and 15 .are varied by altering the forces exerted by the compression springs 36. Thus if the idler shaft 22 is -caused to move upwardly in the slots 34, the springs 36 becomes compressed and exert greater forces on the shaft 22 and the feed roll 15 so that the operative gripping pressures between the feed rolls 14 and 15 are increased. Conversely, if the idler shaft is lowered in the slots 34, the gripping pressures 'between the feed rolls 14 and 15 are decreased.

Since the feed roll 15 is journaled in the cover 25 for .the register lid 26, the above discussed changes in gripping pressure between the feed rolls 14 and 15 are effected by vertically adjusting the hinged connection between the lid 26 and the mounting member 28. If the hinged connection is lowered, the relative position of the cover 25 is lowered when the lid 26 is closed causing the idler shaft 22 to ride upwardly in the slots 34 and further compress the springs 36. If the hinged connection is raised, the cover 25 is also raised and the idler shaft 22 rides downwardly in the slots 34 releasing compression from the springs 36.

To provide for this relative vertical .adjustment of the lid 26, the present invention is provided with the adjustable mounting member 28. The mounting member 28 preferably includes a bracket member 38 fixed to a side wall 11 ofthe housing 10. The bracket member 38 is provided at its upper end with a laterally projecting shoulder 40 having a threaded opening 41 and at its opposite end with .a second shoulder 42. The mounting member 28 may also be provided with a slide member, generally designated d3, which is adjnstably secured in place adjacent the bracket member 38 by a retainer plate ti-t and a machine bolt 45, as best shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

The slide member 43 is preferably provided with a centrally disposed slot i6 of a size to receive the shoulder 40 of the bracket member 38, and the slide member may Ibe bifurcated at its lower end to form a slot i7 of a size to accommodate the second shoulder d2. Thus the shoulders 40 and 42 and the slots 46 and 47 cooperate to guide the slide member 43 in its movement relative to the bracket member 38.

The upper end of the slide member 43 preferably has a lateral projection "i8 having an aperture 50 which is in alignment with the threaded opening dit of the bracket 38. A machine bolt 51 is provided having a headed portion 52 and a threaded shank. The shank 53 is extended through the aperture 50 and is threadably engaged in the opening il of the shoulder di). The shank 53 may "be embraced by a coil compression spring d which bears in opposite directions upon the adjacent faces of the shoulder 4t) and lateral projection d8. When it is desired to adjust the slide member 43 downwardly with respect to the bracket member 38, it is only necessary to loosen the retainer plate 44 slightly and to threadably advance the machine boit 5l so that the sprinY Sli becomes further compressed `and the lateral projection 48 and the slide member 43 are moved downwardly.

To raise the slide member 43, the machine bolt 5f is turned in the opposite direction to raise the head portion 52, as shown in Fig. 2, and the spring 54 moves the slide member 43 upwardly so that the head portion 52 of the machine boit 5l and the upper face of the lateral projection 48 remain in surface Contact. in some cases, where the retainer plate is not sufficiently loosened, it may be necessary to manually assist the spring 54 in this raising operation.

The upper end of the vslide member 43 is also generally provided with an arm 5S to which the lid 26 is secured by the journals 27. The arm 55 may have an offset portion 56, best shown in Fig. 4, and this offset portion may serve as a limiting stop for a forward edge 57 of the lid 26 when the lid is swung to its upwardly open position, as shown in Fig. 2.

It is, of course, understood that a mounting bracket 28 is positioned on each of the opposite interior side walls 11 of the housing 1t) so that each of the hinged connections of the lid 26 may be carefully adjusted as desired. In operation, when it is desired to adjust the feed rolls to provide greater gripping pressures, the lid 26 is rst swung to open position (Fig. 2) and the closure member 17 is opened to expose the mounting member 28. The machine bolt 51 is then advanced into the threaded opening 41 to carry the slide member 43 in a downward direction and to lower the journals 27 which make the hinged connection with the lid 26. When thevlid is swung to its closed position, the feed roll 15 engages the feed roll 14 and forces the idler shaft 22 upwardly in the slots 34 4to compress the springs 36 so that the springs 36 exert greater forces upon the idler shaft 22 and increase the gripping pressure between the feed rolls 14 and 15, as described above.

n By moving the machine bolt 51 in the opposite directlon the slide member 43 may be raised which raises the hinged connection between the lid 26 and the housing 10 so that the pressures exerted by the compression springs 36 are diminished and the frictional gripping pressure between the feed rolls 14 and f5 is lessened.

The foregoing detailed description is given for clearness of understanding only and no unnecessary limitations should be understood therefrom as some modifications will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

I claim:

1. An autographic register for advancing superposed strips of continuous form vstationery over a platen, comprising: a housing having a lid making a hinged connection therewith to permit the lid to be swung between open and closed position; a first rotatable feed roll journaled in the housing beneath a portion of said lid; a second rotatable feed roll floatingly journaled in said lid portion above said rst feed roll, said lid portion having spring means for normally yieldingly urging said second feed roll into cooperative engagement with said first feed roll when the lid is in closed position so as to frictionally grip superposed strips of stationery positioned between the rolls; drive means for rotating the feed rolls to ad- Vance the stationery strips; and adjustable means for upwardly moving the lid and its hinged connection so as to vary the force of said spring means on the second feed roll when the lid is in closed position and thereby to regulate the frictional gripping pressure between the feed rolls.

2. An autographic register as specified in claim 1, in which the adjustable means includes a mounting bracket adjustably secured to the housing for relative sliding movement and having an upper end portion hingedly joining the lid to the housing, upward movement of said mounting bracket effecting movement of said lid and its hinged connection to regulate the frictional gripping pressure between the feed rolls.

3. An autographic register for advancing superposed strips of continuous form stationery over a platen, comprising: a box-like housing having a pair of upright opposed longitudinally extending sidewalls and a lid mem ber, said lid member making a hinged connection with a forward portion of said housing for swinging movement between open and closed position; a first rotatable feed roll journaled in the forward portion of said housing beneath a portion of said lid member; a second rotatable feed roll fleatingly journaled in said lid portion above said rst feed roll, said lid portion being provided with compression springs to normally yieldingly urge said sccond feed roll into cooperative engagement with said first feed roll when the lid member is in closed position so as to frictionally grip superposed strips of stationery positioned between the rolls; drive means for rotating the feed rolls to advance the stationery strip; and a pair of upstanding brackets each secured at one end to an inner face of one of said sidewalls and having a free end to which said lid member is secured for making said hinged connection, said brackets being upwardly adjustable for varyingthe position of said hinged connection and the lid member whereby the force exerted by said compression springs when said lid member is closed may be varied so as to regulate the frictional gripping pressure between the feed rolls.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

